25 Places to visit before you die: No. 20 The Brandenburg Gate

The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin is a symbolic of both the tragic European struggles of the past, and the joyous re-unification of not just Germany, but the normalisation of relations of the whole continent. It is this history, the duel emotions of unease and excitement, which assures the Brandenburg Gate a place on afterabc's list of; 25 Places to visit before you die.

The Brandenburg Gate, (Brandenburger Tor) was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace, and built by Carl Gotthard Langhans from 1788 to 1791. The design, of twelve Doric columns, six to each side, forming five passageways, is based upon the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece and is consistent with Berlin's history of architectural classicism (first, Baroque, and then neo-Palladian). Atop the gate is the Quadriga, a chariot drawn by four horses driven by Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory.

The Gate was one of a series of formal entrances to Berlin and is the only one remaining. Today the Gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, - the boulevard of linden trees which formerly led directly to the city palace of the Prussian monarchs. The Gate is situated west of the city centre at the intersection of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. One block to the north stands the Reichstag building.

 

 

 

 

After the 1806 Prussian defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Napoleon took the Quadriga to Paris. After Napoleon's defeat in 1814 the Quadriga was restored to Berlin and Victoria's wreath of oak leaves was supplemented with a new symbol of Prussian power, the Iron Cross.

When the Nazis ascended to power they used the Gate as a party symbol. The Gate survived World War II and was one of the few structures standing in the Pariser Platz ruins in 1945. The gate was badly damaged with holes in the columns from bullets and nearby explosions. The holes were patched, and were visible for many years following the war.

When Berlin was partitioned after World War II, the Brandenburg Gate fell in the Soviets sector, adjoining the British sector at the Gate, and a Soviet flag flew from a flagpole atop the gate from 1945 until 1957, when it was replaced by an East German flag. Since the reunification of Germany, the flag and the pole have been removed.

Vehicles and pedestrians could travel freely through the gate until the Berlin Wall was built, 13 August 1961. The Wall was erected as an arc just west of the gate, cutting off access from West Berlin. On the eastern side, the "baby Wall", drawn across the eastern end of Pariser Platz, rendered the Gate off limits to East Berliners as well. 

 

 

 

 

When the Wall fell in 1989, the gate symbolized freedom and the desire to unify the city of Berlin. Thousands of people gathered at the Wall to celebrate its fall on 9 November 1989. On 22 December 1989, the Brandenburg Gate crossing was opened when Helmut Kohl, the West German chancellor, walked through to be greeted by Hans Modrow, the East German prime minister. Demolition of the rest of the Wall around the area took place the following year. Some of the Wall is now a protected landmark, and is a sobering reminder of the 'iron curtain' that not so long ago divided the City and the world.

Berlin is a revitalized city, and the Brandenburg Gate is the heart of the restored capital.

"Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was civis Romanus sum. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is 'Ich bin ein Berliner'... All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words 'Ich bin ein Berliner'"!

 - President John F. Kennedy - 26 June, 1963

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